Here are the latest developments in the Cars 2 lawsuit by unknown screenwriter Jake Mandeville-Anthony, sourced from recently-filed court documents obtained through the U.S. Courts' PACER service.
- David R. Singer and Sanford "Sandy" M. Litvack of the firm Hogan Lovells are representing The Walt Disney Company and its co-defendents (wholly-owned subsidiaries Disney Enterprises, Inc., Walt Disney Pictures, and Pixar).
- Litvack was general in-house counsel and vice chairman at Disney during the Michael Eisner years. He figures prominently in James B. Stewart's book DisneyWar.
- Calling the lawsuit 'audacious', Disney has applied for an order to extend their "time to respond" to July 8, after Cars 2 opens, aiming to prevent a preliminary injunction to stop the film's release from being granted.
- Mandeville-Anthony's attorney counters with a motion to obtain a copy of Cars 2 and its screenplay before the theatrical release. Disney objects on the grounds of commercial secrecy and piracy concerns. A hearing is currently scheduled for June 6.
- Disney plans to seek dismissal of the entire lawsuit based on various arguments, including the lack of even 'remote' similarity between Cars and Mandeville-Anthony's works.
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5 comments:
Face Palm. Here we go AGAIN
they can't demand Cars 2 for this.
the team of Pixar would never do something like that, because I heard that after of Cars was finished, Jonh Lasseter traveled around the world and he had the idea to make the squel Cars 2.
I know that they'll win the lawsuit and everything's gonna be Ok and Cars 2 will be performed on June 24.
The main thing about all these lawsuits is that you cannot copywrite an idea. There is NO legal protection for a concept.
Even if this guy shipped his ideas around to studios, he has no legal protection. Now, if Pixar had used his actual script, he'd have a case. If this guy created characters and had those legally copywritten, he'd have a case.
But from what I've gathered, he's mad because he had an idea for a movie with talking cars and Pixar released a movie with talking cars. I'm sorry, but I bet there are millions of people out there who had the idea for a movie with talking cars.
This guy isn't getting anything from Pixar except for maybe a hearty laugh.
Mallory is absolutely right. Concepts cannot be copyrighted in the slightest.
I could legally make a movie about a group of people in space who have the ability to move objects from a distance and use light swords.
Or write a book about a young wizard, currently attending magic school, whose parents were killed back when he was an infant.
But that is besides the point; I don't think Pixar ripped off any unknown screenwriter's idea. This lawsuit ticks me off because it represents how badly some Americans are abusing the court system.
Hello? Is everyone forgetting the Chevron commercials animated by Aardman (Wallace and Gromit)? The eyes were in the headlights, but they were talking cars, too!
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